We're not too far removed from the star of yet another exciting season of the Indian Premier League. The world's most famous cricket league is about to kick off and you can bet we have plenty of high end cricket waiting for us. What makes the IPL so much fun is that not always the best team wins. Surprises are possible and they happen more often than not. Nothing is known before the season kicks off, and even then teams that start poorly can surprise, and the teams favoured early on can fumble too.
With only a couple of weeks before the start of the 2026 Indian Premier League season we are free to make a couple of bold predictions. While bold, we trust that there are quite a lot of chances that some of them come true at the end of the season. After all, IPL is not the easiest sports league in the world to make predictions. In fact, it might be one of the hardest ones to do so. With that in mind, let's start with what we have to say.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Back to Back Domain
It is not an easy feat to win the IPL. Last season, after years of waiting, the RCB team finally did it for the first time ever. This year, we believe that they have a well run organization, filled with top talent across the board, able to win the title once again. The main reason why we see them as one of the top favorites to go back to back is the fact that they have some of the best Indian cricket players on their roster. Two that fit this description the best are their batters, Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar. These two have been some of the top players at their respective positions for years now in the IPL, and now they can finally say that they've won the title together. Add to the mix that Royal Challengers Bengaluru have also improved in the domain of death bowling, and that their roster is deep enough to hold against any opponent during the middle overs. Even before the season has started, we can see Royal Challengers Bengaluru as one of the top two teams in the Indian Premier League, and as one that when the last age of the season comes around exists the season out on top.
The Final Game Prediction
In accordance with what we said in the previous paragraph one of the teams making it to the final is going to be the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. This team has one of the best rosters in the league. The best part is that they have retained their title winning core. That's why we see them as being able to retain the title. Their biggest off season addition is the INR 7 crore all rounder Venkatesh Iyer. Also, depth was added by the addition of Jacob Duffy. Of course, lacking a true wrist spinner in the team might be a major flaw down the line, but that's a flaw they can overcome under the right conditions.
With Royal Challengers Bengaluru clearly in the picture as one of the two best teams in the league, the ideal pairing for the final match of the season would be the one against Mumbai Indians. One of the league's most storied franchises is currently on a five year long title drought. That puts it in perspective just how hard it is to win the IPL trophy. Prior to this season, the Indians have won 5 IPL titles, and adding a sixth will be imperative for the team this season.
Just like Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the Mumbai Indians have a good and strong roster. Their squad is similar to the previous season and the likes of Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, and Will Jacks know how to win when it matters. Their only downside is that they've been cap strapped and unable to add depth to the high quality of their roster. Later on in the season that could cost them dearly, but if they miss on major injuries and their top players play up to the level set in previous years, they could be the team to face RCB in the final.
There is no doubt in our mind that if this is the pairing for the final it is easily going to be one of the most watched finals in the history of the IPL.
Yashasvi Jaiswal to Win the Orange Cap
India has never lacked top tier talent when it comes to cricket, and during the last few decades the likes of Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rohit Sharma have carried the mantle of the nation's best players. This season, and in the years to come one of the players who could put his name in the Indian cricket history books is Yashasvi Jaiswal. He is a player who could dominate the league and the world of cricket in coming years. He would've gotten to the top already if it wasn't for a couple of nagging injuries and a tad bit of inconsistency in years prior. If he manages to win the Orange Cap he would join the selected company of Shaun Marsh, Matthew Hayden, Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle, Chris Gayle, Michael Hussey, Robin Uthappa, David Warner, Virat Kohli, David Warner, Kane Williamson, David Warner, KL Rahul, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jos Buttler, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Sai Sudharsan.
If the last season was something to go by, we might be on to something here. He managed to get to 559 runs and that's not a number to scuff at. This season we can see him going for over 700 runs. His power play and hitting spinners are off the mark, and he can accelerate the game with taking little to no risks. He is a match decider if we ever saw one, and this all will translate to him winning the Orange cap in 2026. Last season, the winner was Sai Sudharsan of Gujarat Titans with 759 runs, and that's the number Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to aim at if our bold prediction for him to win the Orange cap is to come true.
Sunrisers Hyderabad to go Over 300 Runs in an IPL innings
This stat sounds like something illegal. It's not, and it can be done. We believe that Sunrisers Hyderabad are the team to do it. There is no big secret hidden behind our thoughts. They are the team that was the closest one to do it in the past few seasons. In fact, they are the ones holding the current record standing at 287 runs. That's their brand of cricket, more is better. If any team can do it, it's the SRH. When you play on an ultra aggressive template that is based on no anchors mantra, then achieving 300+ in an IPL innings is a real possibility. We can see this feat being achieved in the coming season, and the culprits behind it being the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Virat Kohli to Hit 2 Centuries
Virat Kohli is a player who has marked the last two decades of Indian cricket. There's no arguing that he has been one of the best players in the world during the peak year of his career. As far as IPL goes he has been one of the faces of the league since the 2010s. If there's a record to be broken, and it's not already owned by Virat, you can bet he will be chasing it during the 2026 Indian Premier League season. Achieving 2 centuries during one IPL season would not be a record on its own. Kohli has done more in the past by scoring 4 during the 2026 IPL season. Yet, he is entering the last stage of his illustrious career, and having 2 in 2026 would be a magical feat. The only other player to have 4 in a season is Jos Buttler, and Shubman Gil has 3. Getting 2 is also not an easy feat as only Kohli, Gil, Butler, Gayle, Amla, Watson, KL Rahul, and Dhawan have achieved it. With the way RCB have been using Kohli in the past few seasons, with his controlled aggression style of play, we could see him entering the zone necessary to go to 2 centuries in a single IPL campaign once again. 2026 might be one of Kohli's last seasons at the top level, and we can see him achieving this type of a feat with ease only suitable to him.
Young Stars Will Rise in 2026
Cricket is a game where careers can last quite a lot, and much longer than in many other sports. So, when a new generation of top players arises, even in a market such as Indian ,where cricket is the most popular sport, it is hard to replace some of the established stars. This especially goes for the Indian Premier League. Yet, we can see many of the rising Indian stars to take the crown in 2026. The names we have in the mix are Indian players that have played well in the IPL during the past few seasons, but haven't yet been called up to the Indian national team. The players you need to have on your radar in 2026 include the likes of Auqib Nabi, Prashant Veer, Ashok Sharma, Krains Fuletra, and Kartik Sharma. While these lads are not yet on the levels of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, or Shubman Gil, this is the season that could see them break through some barriers and establish themselves as some of the top performers in the Indian Premier League.
The Off Season Trade Winners
We think that this off season has seen many teams getting better via trading. It is hard to judge a trade before the first game has even been played, but we will make a bold prediction that the top trades of this past off season are going to be winners. The major one we have in mind, that will reshape the future of franchises involved is the exchange between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. This trade saw Sanju Samson move to CSK, in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran who both joined RR. One of the teams that was most active were the Mumbai Indians that established themselves as one of the favorites to win the IPL in 2026. In a couple of off season moves the Indians have brought in Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford, and Mayank Markande. There's an old saying that if you want to win during the season, you need to win in the off season too. Our bold prediction is that the teams that have been active during the trading season will do good for themselves when the 2026 Indian Premier League kicks off later in March.
Who is Favoured to Win The 2026 IPL Season?
As we said at the beginning of the article, we are only a few weeks away from the start of the 2026 IPL season. True cricket fans can't wait for it to start, and the talks of who could win it come late May are already on. Last season, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru managed to claim their maiden title. After 18 seasons this team has finally won one showing everyone that anything is possible if you put hard work into it. While RCB will attempt to win back to back titles and we trust that they can do so in 2026, the bookies do not see them as frontrunners this season.
Instead, Mumbai Indians are the hot favourites at the moment with their odds being set at 5.50. RCB is right behind with their odds standing at 6.50. Last year's finalists the Punjab Kings are the third best team this season according to the bookies with the odds of 7.50. The same odds apply to Gujarat Titans, and these four teams are seen as the best this year in the IPL by both fans and pundits. Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants all have their odds set at 10.00 showing that they belong in the second tier of teams capable of going all the way. At the moment, teams with least chances of being competitive in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League are Chennai Super Kings, and Rajasthan Royals with their odds being 11.00 and 13.00 respectively.
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